3 men arrested for violent assault on woman in Terenure

Dublin, 21 July 1923 - Three men have been arrested for the brutal attack on a young woman in Terenure. The victim, about 22 years old, was discovered unconscious, after being beaten and tied to a lamppost on a street near the entrance of Terenure College.

It is understood that one of the three men arrested had ‘interfered’ with the young woman on a previous occasion. Mr. John Ellis from Rathfarnham, who was on bail for a prior assault on the same woman, has been further remanded after being rearrested by the DMP Superintendent Walsh.

The victim, Miss Maureen Crowley, a domestic servant employed by Mr. James Simpson of Rathfarnham, is a native of Co. Wicklow and has two brothers serving in the National Army. The young woman had previously received anonymous threatening letters and in May this year she was badly beaten when set upon by men masquerading as women.

This latest attack was particularly brutal and appears to have involved planning and co-ordination on the part of a number of individuals. On the night of July 19th, the victim was returning home - she resides at her place of employment -when she was met by three young girls who warned her against proceeding by the most direct route as her employer’s home had been burned and, having escaped, he wished to meet her on the Templeogue Road.

When she reached the vicinity of Terenure College, however, the woman was set upon by three men and violently assaulted. She was subsequently found by passers-by unconscious and bound to a lamppost, the cords tied so tightly around her she was almost strangled.  The woman was taken to the Meath Hospital where she is recovering from the effects of her harrowing experience.

[Editor's note: This is an article from Century Ireland, a fortnightly online newspaper, written from the perspective of a journalist 100 years ago, based on news reports of the time.]